I've just got back from Naples and spoke to an Italian out there who seemed quite a fan of Franco Manca, said it was the best pizza available in London. It's certainly been a huge success, from humble beginnings in Brixton to branches in Chiswick, Balham, Tott Court Rd etc...

"Only" in Rome and Milan, both with large southern Italian populations though, but every time was lousy. Wasn't overly impressed with the food in general despite Italy's supposed culinary superiority. I have had much better pizza in London. The ice cream was very good though.

Obviously I do because I've been there, Pizza Express is much better than the pizza they serve there, Italians are very arrogant when it comes to their food (cooked very well in their homes) but their restaurants are mostly below par. The bread served was always nice.

I've just been there recently and Rome, like every other city in the world, has its share of both crappy and amazing restaurants. Venture outside the tourist focused central of Rome and you can find amazing pizzas.

A good Italian takeaway is much needed in Brockley. I wanted to like Villa Toscana, however the pizza was not to my liking. Best pizza around Brockley/New Cross is Oregano (Old Kent Road) without doubt and if it can compete with them it will do very well.

I've tried the Bella Napoli in Downham and it really is a cut above the rest when it comes to take away pizza. Also the signage is at least fairly smart. Think the usual BC moaners need to stop being so petulantly whiney.

Why would you want a local business to fail, especially when it is evident you haven't tried it yet? And what is so wrong with kebab? There are plenty of empty units in Brockley if you wish to educate us on your idea of a good restaurant.

Food no good in Italy TTD? You must have gone to the wrong places. Admittedly, like most big cities, there are cynical restaurant owners waiting to rinse unsuspecting tourists. There are loads in London. I was in Bologna last year and ate the most incredible food. As for pizza, it's a lovely thing in the right hands. As a person who cooks for a living I'm cursed by an ability to calculate the cost of ingredients and their quality. Pizzas are ridiculously overpriced. Franco Mancas offerings are pretty damn good and reasonably priced but I've heard that they've been bought out by the big boys.

The standard of pizza in London restaurants is very good, the chains all around the tourist parts of London like Pizza Express are fairly consistent. Italy was a letdown food wise although I had a few good meals after scouring Tripadvisor and carefully planning expeditions, maybe I was expecting too much.

I don't think pizzas are overpriced, yes the ingredientsare cheap but when you consider the huge non-food costs of running a restaurant (rents, rates, wages) etc it seems very reasonable.